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PAKISTAN AND THE OIC

Introduction:
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is an inter-governmental organization
grouping fifty-six States. These States decided to pool their resources together,
combine their efforts and speak with one voice to safeguard the interest and ensure
the progress and well-being of their peoples and those of other Muslims in the world
over.
The Organization was established in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, on 12 Rajab 1389H
(25 September 1969) when the First meeting of the leaders of the Islamic world was
held in this city in the wake of the criminal arson perpetrated on 21 August 1969 by
Zionist elements against Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied Jerusalem. It was indeed in order
to defend the honour, dignity and faith of the Muslims, to face this bitter challenge
launched in the holy city of Al-Quds so dear to them and against the Mosque of AlAqsa, the first Qibla and third holiest Shrine of Islam, that the leaders of the Muslim
world, at their Summit in Rabat, seized that event - which brought about unanimous
worldwide condemnation and reprobation - to think together of their common cause
and muster the force required to overcome their differences, unite and lay the
foundations of this large grouping of States, that is, the Organization of the Islamic
Conference which they entrusted, in absolute priority, with liberating Jerusalem and AlAqsa from Zionist occupation.
Six months after that historical meeting, i.e. in Muharram 1390H (March 1970), the
First Islamic Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Jeddah set up a
permanent General Secretariat, to ensure a liaison among Member States and charged
it to coordinate their action. The Conference appointed its Secretary General and
chose Jeddah as the Headquarters of the Organization, pending the liberation of
Jerusalem, which would be the permanent Headquarters.
Two and a half years after Rabat, in Muharram 1392H (February 1972), the Islamic
Conference of Foreign Ministers, meeting in its Third Session, adopted the Charter of
the Organization, whose purpose is to strengthen solidarity and cooperation among
Islamic States in the political, economic, cultural, scientific and social fields.
Under the Charter, the Organization aims to:
1. Strengthen:
a) Islamic solidarity among Member States;
b) Cooperation in the political, economic, social, cultural and scientific fields:
c) The struggle of all Muslim people to safeguard their dignity, independence and

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national rights.
2. Coordinate action to:
a) Safeguard the Holy Places;
b) Support the struggle of the Palestinian people and assist them in recovering their
rights and liberating their occupied territories.
3. Work to:
a) Eliminate racial discrimination and all forms of colonialism;
b) Create a favorable atmosphere for the promotion of cooperation and understanding
between Member States and other countries.
The Charter also enumerates principles which OIC Member States undertake to inspire
themselves from, in order to achieve the objectives of the Organization.
The Charter also enumerates the principles governing OIC activities, namely:
1. Full equality among Member States
2.Observation of the right to self-determination and non-interference in the internal
affairs of Member States
3. Observation of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of each State
4.The settlement of any dispute that might arise among Member States by peaceful
means such as negotiations, mediation, conciliation and arbitration
5. A pledge to refrain, in relations among Member States, from resorting to force or
threatening to resort to the use of force against the unity and territorial integrity or the
political independence of any one of them
In order to achieve its objectives, the Organization has main bodies, secondary organs,
institutions and specialized committees.
The Islamic Conference is composed of the following main bodies:
The Conference of Kings and Heads of State and Government, is the supreme
authority of the Organization which meets once every three years to lay down the
Organization's policy
The Conference of Foreign Ministers, which meets once a year to examine a progress
report on the implementation of its decisions taken within the framework of the policy
defined by the Islamic Summit
The General Secretariat, which is the executive organ of the Organization, entrusted
with the implementation of the decisions of the two preceding bodies.

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In order to coordinate and boost its action, align its view points and stands, and be
credited with concrete results in the various fields of cooperation: political, economic,
cultural, social, spiritual and scientific, among Member States, the Organization has
created different committees, nearly all, at ministerial level, a number of which are
chaired by Heads of State. The Al-Quds Committee, the Standing Committee for
Information and Cultural Affairs (COMIAC), the Standing Committee for Economic and
Trade Cooperation (COMCEC), the Standing Committee for Scientific and Technical
Cooperation (COMSTECH) and the Islamic Peace Committee are the ones Chaired by
Heads of State. Fourteen Committees which have been thus established, deal with
other important issues such as Palestine, the Sahel, Afghanistan, Kashmir etc.
The number and types of secondary organs and institutions, working toward the
achievement of the OIC objectives, have been steadily increasing, and cover various
areas of cultural, scientific, economic, legal, financial, sports, technological,
educational, media, as well as vocational, social and humanitarian. Depending on their
degree of autonomy vis-a-vis the parent organization, they are classified as subsidiary
and specialized organs, or affiliated institutions.
Last but not least, it is worth mentioning that by the 3rd year of the World Decade for
Cultural Development launched by the United Nations in 1988 under the auspices of
UNESCO - the Organization of the Islamic Conference had built Islamic Colleges, and
Cultural Institutes and Centers to spread Islamic culture and dispense the Teaching of
Arabic, the language of the Holy Qur'an, as well as other languages.
Pakistan's Role In the OIC
Pakistan with its legacy rooted in the Islamic faith and its consistent support for
Muslim causes, as well as in response to the overwhelming public support for the
cause of liberation of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, was a founding member of the OIC in 1969.
Relations with the Islamic world are the corner stone of foreign policy of Pakistan. As a
founding member of the OIC Pakistan has an abiding commitment to the purposes,
principles and objectives of its Charter. Pakistan has played an important role in
strengthening cooperation among Muslim States by its active participation in the
programmes and activities of the OIC. The efforts by Pakistan have received due
acknowledgment in the OIC signified by its membership of all key OIC's Specialized
Committees and Contact Groups on critical issues of the Islamic world - Palestine,
Afghanistan, Jammu & Kashmir, Bosnia, Kosovo and Sahel.
Pakistan is the Chairman of the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and
Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) which has its Headquarters in Islamabad.
Pakistan also hosts the Secretariat of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(ICCI). The Office of the OIC's Secretary General's Special Representative on
Afghanistan is based in Islamabad.

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The Headquarters of the Islamic Telecommunication Union would also be established in
Islamabad. Pakistan is the Chairman of the Council and the Executive Committee of
the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUOICM).
Mr. Sharif-ud-Din Pirzada a noted Lawyer and a former Foreign Minister of Pakistan
served as the Secretary General of the OIC from 1984 to 1988. Pakistan is a member
of all OIC subsidiaries, affiliated and specialized Organs.
Pakistan hosted the second Islamic Summit Conference in Lahore on 22nd to 24th
February 1974. Pakistan also hosted the Second Conference of the OIC Foreign
Ministers (ICFM) held in Karachi from 26th to 28 December 1970, Eleventh ICFM in
Islamabad from 17th to 22nd May 1980 and the Twenty-first ICFM held in Karachi on
25th to 29th April 1993. The Special Sessions of the OIC Foreign Ministers Conference
in 1980 and in 1994 were also held in Pakistan.
To commemorate Fifty years of the Independence of Pakistan an Extra-ordinary
Session of the Islamic Summit was held in Islamabad on 23rd March 1997. A large
number of the Islamic Heads of State and Government, in a grand gesture of solidarity
with Pakistan attended the Summit meeting and conveyed their full support to the
sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Pakistan on this
auspicious occasion.